Signing-in to software applications having secured features
First Claim
1. A method for signing-in to a software application, wherein the software application has one or more secured features, comprising:
- enabling, on a client computer, an automatic sign-in condition in the software application to allow the software application to automatically transition to a signed-in state when one or more security criteria are satisfied, the automatic sign-in condition being enabled upon at least one of initial system setup of the client computer and through a service options menu on the client computer, the service options menu comprising an interface displaying a field for a user name, a field for an option to save a password and a field for an auto-sign in option;
starting the software application without prompting action on the part of a user when in the automatic sign-in condition;
detecting whether one or more security criteria are satisfied when the software application is started and is in the automatic sign-in condition; and
in response to at least one of the one or more security criteria being satisfied, automatically transitioning the software application to the signed-in state without prompting action on the part of the user when in the automatic sign-in condition and granting the software application access to the secured features, wherein the security criteria comprises a key, associated with a user profile, being set to enable the automatic sign-in condition and a credential associated with the user being stored in a credential manager, the key being associated with the user profile to provide roaming characteristics utilized to allow the user to access secured features from a plurality of network client computers, the roaming characteristics enabling the automatic sign-in condition to roam between the plurality of network client computers without the user being required to reenter the credential to access the secured features of the software application.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention automatically signs or logs a user in to access secured features within a software application without prompting manual intervention when a user starts the software application having secured features. When the software application is started and an automatic sign-in condition is enabled, the software application transitions to a signed-in or logged-in state as long as security criteria are met. As a result, unnecessary and repetitive steps are avoided when signing-in. The automatic sign-in condition may be enabled through initial system setup, from a prompt to enter a credential, or through a service options menu. The present invention improves network efficiency by limiting network transmissions to an as needed basis. The automatic sign-in condition is capable of roaming to other computers within a network, thereby following mobile users. Further, the automatic sign-in condition is controllable by network administrative policy, giving network administrators the ability to disable its functionality when desired.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method for signing-in to a software application, wherein the software application has one or more secured features, comprising:
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enabling, on a client computer, an automatic sign-in condition in the software application to allow the software application to automatically transition to a signed-in state when one or more security criteria are satisfied, the automatic sign-in condition being enabled upon at least one of initial system setup of the client computer and through a service options menu on the client computer, the service options menu comprising an interface displaying a field for a user name, a field for an option to save a password and a field for an auto-sign in option; starting the software application without prompting action on the part of a user when in the automatic sign-in condition; detecting whether one or more security criteria are satisfied when the software application is started and is in the automatic sign-in condition; and in response to at least one of the one or more security criteria being satisfied, automatically transitioning the software application to the signed-in state without prompting action on the part of the user when in the automatic sign-in condition and granting the software application access to the secured features, wherein the security criteria comprises a key, associated with a user profile, being set to enable the automatic sign-in condition and a credential associated with the user being stored in a credential manager, the key being associated with the user profile to provide roaming characteristics utilized to allow the user to access secured features from a plurality of network client computers, the roaming characteristics enabling the automatic sign-in condition to roam between the plurality of network client computers without the user being required to reenter the credential to access the secured features of the software application. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computer storage medium readable by a computing system and encoding instructions for executing a computer process for logging in to a software application, wherein the software application has one or more secured features, said computer process comprising:
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enabling, on a client computer, an automatic sign-in condition in the software application to allow the software application to automatically transition to a signed-in state when one or more security criteria are satisfied, the automatic sign-in condition being enabled upon at least one of initial system setup of the client computer and through a service options menu on the client computer, the service options menu comprising an interface displaying a field for a user name, a field for an option to save a password and a field for an auto-sign in option; launching the software application without prompting action on the part of a user when in the automatic sign-in condition; determining whether one or more security criteria are satisfied when the software application is launched and is in the automatic sign-in condition; and in response to at least one of the one or more security criteria being satisfied, automatically transitioning the software application to the signed-in state without prompting action on the part of the user when in the automatic sign-in condition and granting the software application access to the secured features, wherein the security criteria comprises a key, associated with a user profile, being set to enable the automatic sign-in condition and a credential associated with the user being stored in a credential manager, the key being associated with the user profile to provide roaming characteristics utilized to allow the user to access secured features from a plurality of network client computers, the roaming characteristics enabling the automatic sign-in condition to roam between the plurality of network client computers without the user being required to reenter the credential to access the secured features of the software application. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for automatic login to access one or more secured features within a software application comprising:
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authenticating, on a client computer, an automatic login condition in the software application to allow the software application to automatically transition to a signed-in state when one or more security criteria are satisfied, the automatic login condition being enabled upon at least one of initial system setup of the client computer and through a service options menu on the client computer, the service options menu comprising an interface displaying a field for a user name, a field for an option to save a password and a field for an auto-sign in option; launching the software application without prompting action on the part of a user while in the automatic login condition; detecting whether one or more automatic login criteria are satisfied when the software application is launched and is in the automatic login condition; and in response to at least one of the one or more automatic login criteria being satisfied, automatically transitioning the software application to the signed-in state without prompting action on the part of the user when in the automatic sign-in condition and granting the software application access to the secured features, wherein when the automatic login condition is enabled, a key, associated with a user profile, is set and a credential associated with the user is stored in a credential manager, the key being associated with the user profile to provide roaming characteristics utilized to allow the user to access secured features from a plurality of network client computers, the roaming characteristics enabling the automatic sign-in condition to roam between the plurality of network client computers without the user being required to reenter the credential to access the secured features of the software application. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36)
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37. A system for signing-in to a software application, wherein the software application has one or more security criteria and one or more secured features, comprising;
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a memory unit storing an authenticated sign-in condition; and a processing unit enabling, on a client computer, an automatic sign-in condition in the software application to allow the software application to automatically transition to a signed-in state when one or more security criteria are satisfied, the automatic sign-in condition being enabled upon at least one of initial system setup of the client computer and through a service options menu on the client computer, the service options menu comprising an interface displaying a field for a user name, a field for an option to save a password and a field for an auto-sign in option, starting the software application without prompting action on the part of the user when in the automatic sign-in condition and detecting whether one or more security criteria are satisfied when the software application is started and is in the automatic sign-in condition, and in response to at least one of the one or more security criteria being satisfied, the processing unit automatically transitioning the software application to the signed-in state without prompting action on the part of the user when in the automatic sign-in condition and granting the software application access to the secured features, wherein when the authenticated sign-in condition is enabled, a key, associated with a user profile, is set and a credential associated with the user is stored in a credential manager, the key being associated with the user profile to provide roaming characteristics utilized to allow the user to access secured features from a plurality of network client computers, the roaming characteristics enabling the authenticated sign-in condition to roam between the plurality of network client computers without the user being required to reenter the credential to access the secured features of the software application. - View Dependent Claims (38)
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Specification